Motion quantification can provide important information for physiological research and clinical decisions. For the diagnosis of various diseases, including cardiac problems, the real-time imaging of blood flow can be very informative. Quantification of brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) motion may shed light on the mechanisms of several central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including syringomyelia. Phase contrast cine MRI can image the spatial distribution of velocities in two dimensions. The main drawback of this method is the long acquisition (several minutes) which results from the need to encode the two in-plane dimensions using. Motion periodicity is assumed in this method. Some velocity changes of physiological interest, such as the changes in CSF motion during coughing, are not periodic and cannot be examined using such methods. Therefore, a technique with very high temporal resolution that does not assume motion periodicity is needed. Methods and Results The method we are investigating achieves two dimensions of localization using a 2D selective RF pulse. This is achieved by energizing the RF coil while simultaneously applying carefully designed gradient waveforms in two orthogonal directions. Localization in the third dimension can be achieved using the read-out gradient. Therefore, the sequence interrogates a line of anatomy once every repetition, and produces velocity measurements every two sequences. No assumption of periodicity is needed. The sequence has been tested on phantoms and a waving hand experiment has been done to demonstrate its motion sensitivity and temporal resolution. Discussion This technique enables real-time imaging of motion and flow, and does not require unreasonable patient cooperation. Similar techniques have been described before. An important advantage of the present research is the availability of strong gradients which allows the 2D RF pulses to be shorter or to have better spatial resolution.